Tesla Model S Burst Into Flames Due to Battery’s ‘Spontaneous’ Combustion

The automaking industry may be speeding too fast for public safety to catch up.

The Metro fire of Sacramento recently reported that it put out the fire from a Tesla Model S that spontaneously combusted on EB Highway 50, taking almost nine fire engines' worth of water to extinguish the flames.

Fortunately, the incident caused no casualties or injuries on both the firefighter teams that responded to it or the victim.

Tesla Model S Spontaneous Combustion Details

The Metro Fire of Sacramento mentioned on its official Twitter account that the Tesla Model S in question was traveling along the freeway on EB Highway 50 when its battery suddenly caught fire. Interestingly, the Metro Fire said nothing unusual happened to the car before it spontaneously burst into flames; it had not sustained any damage before the incident.

The car's driver, however, said that they noticed heavy black smoke coming out of their car's undercarriage and eventually pulled over to safely get out of their now-burning vehicle, according to Gizmodo.

The Metro Fire then arrived at the scene and began putting out the fire using two fire engines, a water tender, and a ladder truck. Meanwhile, crews used jacks to access the car's underside to extinguish and cool the burning battery.

Unfortunately, due to the Tesla Model S' battery being made up of lithium-ion, they burn hotter and faster, per CNBC, and can reignite multiple times even after firefighters put out the original fire.

It took 6,000 gallons of water to put out the fire engulfing the Tesla Model S in question - almost nine times as much as what it needs to put out a fire in an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. The Metro Fire also noted that the Tesla Model S' battery cells continued to combust despite being hosed down with water.

Using water to put out a lithium-ion fire may be silly to some, as TexTech Industries advises people to use a foam extinguisher containing Carbon dioxide, powder graphite, ABC dry chemical, or Sodium carbonate to extinguish them. However, Tesla mentioned in its manual that using large amounts of water is the way to go to cool down the car's battery.

Is It Dangerous To Drive Electric Vehicles?

Tesla vehicles catching fire is nothing new and are few and far in between. According to AutoinsuranceEZ, battery electric vehicles only have a 0.03% chance of spontaneously igniting compared to ICE vehicles, which have a 3.4% likelihood to catch fire.

Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that only 0.01% of Teslas ever caught fire.

Because of these facts, the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration rejected a petition to investigate Tesla's battery management software in 2021.

Nevertheless, Metro Fire Sacramento mentioned that modern technology must also come up with better firefighting techniques to combat lithium-ion EV battery fires efficiently.

"Modern technology evolution requires continuous advancements in modern firefighting techniques that are currently being evaluated for efficiency," Metro Fire Sacramento said.